TABLE 3.

Measurements of Analgesic and Pain Management Variables Across the Total Sample and Belief Clusters

		Total (N = 207)		Side Effect Cluster (N = 53)		Need It Later Cluster (N = 154)
Index Analgesic		n	%	n	%	n	%	p
World Health Organization step 1		19	9	3	6	16	10	0.534
World Health Organization step 2		22	11	5	9	17	11	0.534
World Health Organization step 3		166	80	45	85	121	79	0.534
Variable	Range	$\overline{\text{X}}$	SD	$\overline{\text{X}}$	SD	$\overline{\text{X}}$	SD	p
Pain management index	−2 to 3	0.5	1	0.5	0.8	0.6	1	0.687
Worst pain	0–10	6.9	2.4	7.1	2	6.8	2.4	0.265
Least pain	0–10	3.4	2	3.4	1.9	3.4	2	0.533
Average pain	0–10	4.9	2	5	2	4.9	2.1	0.397
Pain interference	0–10	35.2	15.9	36.2	15.8	34.9	16	0.309
Side effect severity	0–80	25.2	15	28.8	15.6	24	14.6	0.043
Self-reported barriers to analgesic use	0–135	66.8	20	63.7	19.4	67.8	20.2	0.2
Total number of analgesics prescribed	–	2.1	0.8	2.2	1	2	0.7	0.155
Total number of co-analgesics prescribed	–	0.2	0.5	0.3	0.6	0.2	0.5	0.322
Overall adherence (%)	–	65.1	34.5	63.6	33.9	65.6	34.9	0.645

Note. P values are based on t tests for continuous variables and χ² for categorical variables.

Note. Clusters are based on data from Rosa et al., 2020. Index analgesics were classified using the World Health Organization analgesic step ladder. Pain management index scores were calculated by subtracting patients’ self-reported pain levels from the most potent prescribed analgesic. Pain severity and interference were measured using the Brief Pain Inventory, severity of side effects was measured using the Medication Side-Effects Checklist, and self-reported barriers to analgesic use were measured using the Barriers Questionnaire–II. Higher scores indicate worse pain, greater pain interference and severity, and more barriers to analgesic use.